German Offenlegungsschrift No. 40 11 850 discloses a motor vehicle which employs so-called "electronic clutch management" (ECM) system. The motor vehicle has a combustion engine, a multispeed manual transmission, an automatic clutch for coupling the engine to the transmission and a control unit for the clutch.
Under certain circumstances it is unsafe for the operator of such a motor vehicle to exit such a vehicle. For instance, if the vehicle is stationary and in gear with the engine idling, as may be the case when standing in front of a garage (the clutch is then in a standby position because the gas pedal is not depressed), a fault in the release system, e.g., a pressure drop in the hydraulic unit, could cause the clutch to close, that is, to engage the transmission. However, the driver is not warned to remain in the vehicle.
The sensitivity with which the moment exerted by the engine is transferred to the drive gears, e.g., while shifting, is also not entirely satisfactory. This has an adverse effect on the comfort of the vehicle. Moreover, it is difficult to set the vehicle in motion on icy roads. In addition, the vehicle is relatively expensive.
Furthermore, neither the sensitivity nor the speed of the control system is totally adequate and faults in the system are not readily detectable by the operator or by a repair shop. The electronic hardware is relatively complex and cannot be used universally. Additionally, the number of masters and slaves is rather large, and fairly extensive vehicle modifications are required in order to use the known version of the ECM system.